by The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees punched their ticket to the regional quarterfinals with a 28-16 win on the road against the Riverside Beavers. The Bees did it behind 3 rushing touchdowns from Zach Aquila and a second half shutout from their defense. Aquila was unstoppable all night, rushing for 124 yards on 21 carries to go along with his 3 touchdowns.
The Beavers began the game with a long drive that was capped off by Bo Brandehoff finding David Seibert for a 21-yard touchdown pass. The Bees responded with a dominant 6-play, 88-yard drive that was all done with the ground game. It was Aquila who found the endzone to make it 7-6. Riverside immediately went back in front when Jaxon Moore broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, Riverside extended their lead to 16-7 with a 26-yard field goal from Ante Zorchets. Brecksville-Broadview Heights then got the big play they needed when Alex Henegar connected with Deacon Toth on a 49-yard deep ball. That got them down to the 2-yard line, where Aquila ran it in to cut the deficit to 16-14 going into halftime.
The Bees started the second half by marching right down the field and taking the lead with another touchdown run by Aquila. A third-down sack by Zac Woods ended the following Beavers’ possession. That led to a punt that Deacon Toth returned all the way for a touchdown to put the Bees up 28-16.
In the fourth quarter, Christopher Soeder made a big play for the Bees when he recovered a fumble by Beavers running back Carmine Wantje. The Bees’ defense in the second half was dominant, holding the Beavers off the scoreboard. The Beavers had multiple drives late in the game to attempt a comeback, but were unable to get anything going.
The Bees will move on to take on the #1 seed Highland Hornets next week in the Region 5 quarterfinals. The Pirates season will come to an end with a 7-4 record.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights Player of the Game:
RB Zach Aquila: 21 rushes, 124 yards, 3 TDs
Riverside Player of the Game:
QB Bo Brandehoff: 15/26 passing, 120 yards, 1 TD; 9 rushes, 26 yards
